H.F. 186 Section 1. Section 232.68, Code 2025, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 7A. “Nonpublic school” means the same as 3 defined in section 280.2. 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 8A. “Public school” means the same as 5 defined in section 280.2. 6 Sec. 2. Section 232.68, subsection 8, Code 2025, is amended 7 by adding the following new paragraph: 8 NEW PARAGRAPH . e. An employee or agent of any public school 9 or nonpublic school. 10 Sec. 3. Section 232.71B, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 11 following new subsection: 12 NEW SUBSECTION . 21. Board of educational examiners —— 13 notice. The department shall report the results of a child 14 abuse assessment to the board of educational examiners created 15 in section 256.146 if all of the following circumstances apply: 16 a. The alleged perpetrator is an employee or agent of any 17 public school or nonpublic school. 18 b. The alleged perpetrator holds a license, certificate, 19 authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board 20 of educational examiners. 21 c. The department issues a finding that the alleged child 22 abuse meets the definition of child abuse. 23 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 232.71E School procedures —— 24 rulemaking authority. 25 1. The department of health and human services, in 26 consultation with the department of education, shall adopt 27 rules pursuant to chapter 17A prescribing procedures each board 28 of directors of a school district and each authority in charge 29 of a nonpublic school shall adopt, pursuant to section 280.17, 30 for the handling of reports of child abuse alleged to have 31 been committed by an employee or agent of a public school or 32 nonpublic school. 33 2. Rules adopted under this section shall include but not be 34 limited to all of the following: 35 -1- LSB 1100YH (1) 91 dg/ko 1/ 4

H.F. 186 a. A public school or nonpublic school shall report child 1 abuse alleged to have been committed by an employee or agent of 2 a public school or nonpublic school to the department of health 3 and human services. 4 b. If child abuse alleged to have been committed by an 5 employee or agent of a public school or a nonpublic school 6 would, if true, constitute a criminal act harming a child, the 7 public school or nonpublic school shall also report the alleged 8 child abuse to law enforcement. 9 Sec. 5. Section 280.17, Code 2025, is amended by striking 10 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 11 280.17 Procedures for handling child abuse reports. 12 1. For purposes of this section: 13 a. “Child abuse” means the same as defined in section 14 232.68. 15 b. “Child abuse assessment” means a child abuse assessment 16 under section 232.71B. 17 2. a. The board of directors of a school district and the 18 authorities in charge of a nonpublic school shall prescribe 19 procedures in accordance with rules adopted by the department 20 of health and human services under section 232.71E for handling 21 reports of child abuse alleged to have been committed by an 22 employee or agent of the public school or nonpublic school. 23 b. The board of directors of a school district and the 24 authorities in charge of a nonpublic school shall exercise 25 due diligence in assisting the department of health and human 26 services, as requested by the department of health and human 27 services, with a child abuse assessment related to child abuse 28 alleged to have been committed by an employee or agent of the 29 public school or nonpublic school. 30 3. The board of directors of a school district and the 31 authorities in charge of a nonpublic school shall place 32 on administrative leave an employee or agent of the public 33 school or nonpublic school who is the subject of an ongoing 34 child abuse assessment. The employee or agent shall also be 35 -2- LSB 1100YH (1) 91 dg/ko 2/ 4

H.F. 186 prohibited from entering school property while subject to an 1 ongoing child abuse assessment. 2 EXPLANATION 3 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 5 This bill relates to child abuse and employees and agents of 6 public schools and nonpublic schools. 7 Under current law, the definition of “child abuse” in 8 Code section 232.68 is used for reporting child abuse to 9 the department of health and human services (HHS), for 10 performing assessments of child abuse reports, and for making 11 determinations as to whether a person committed child abuse. 12 With one exception, the acts or omissions which meet the 13 definition of “child abuse” only qualify as child abuse when 14 a person responsible for the care of a child commits the act 15 or omission. Under current law, the definition of “a person 16 responsible for the care of a child” does not include an 17 employee or agent of a public school or nonpublic school. 18 The bill defines “public school” and “nonpublic school” 19 for purposes of child abuse reporting, and adds employees and 20 agents of a public school or nonpublic school to the definition 21 of “a person responsible for the care of a child”. 22 The bill requires HHS to report the results of a child abuse 23 assessment to the board of educational examiners if the alleged 24 perpetrator is an employee or agent (employee) of any public 25 school or nonpublic school (school); the alleged perpetrator 26 holds a license, certificate, authorization, or statement of 27 recognition issued by the board of educational examiners; and 28 HHS issues a finding that the alleged child abuse meets the 29 definition of child abuse. 30 The bill requires HHS to adopt rules, in consultation with 31 the department of education, to develop minimum procedures 32 each board of directors of a school district (board) and each 33 authority in charge of a nonpublic school (authority) must 34 adopt for the handling of reports of child abuse alleged to 35 -3- LSB 1100YH (1) 91 dg/ko 3/ 4

H.F. 186 have been committed by an employee of a school. Such rules 1 must include but not be limited to requiring schools to report 2 all child abuse alleged to have been committed by an employee 3 of a school to HHS; and requiring schools to also report to law 4 enforcement child abuse alleged to have been committed by an 5 employee of the school if the alleged child abuse, if true, 6 would constitute a criminal act harming a child. 7 The bill requires each board and authority to prescribe 8 procedures, in accordance with rules adopted by HHS, for 9 the handling of reports of child abuse alleged to have been 10 committed by an employee of the school. 11 The bill requires each board and authority to place an 12 employee on administrative leave if the employee is the subject 13 of an ongoing child abuse assessment. The employee shall also 14 be prohibited from entering school property while the employee 15 is subject to an ongoing child abuse assessment. 16 -4- LSB 1100YH (1) 91 dg/ko 4/ 4